Following our initial publication of PRP Therapy for knee osteoarthritis in Dec 2010, several studies are underway looking at larger sample sizes to determine if PRP is safe & effective for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. In a study by Wang & Cugat, 808 patients received 3 PRP injections at 2 week intervals. The study demonstrated improved function, quality of life & pain with no adverse events reported.
An Australian based Co Adistem, Just announced it’s ethical approval for a head to head study of PRP to Synvisc One (A commonly used US FDA approved Lubricant for knee arthritis). lastly, Dr Brian Cole, the Chicago Bulls Team Doc & leading cartilage researcher is conducting a trial with Arthrex/ACP injections for knee osteoarthritis.
More recently, industry leaders in orthobiologics are recognizing the tremendous need for alternative treatments to surgery in a population that will see an increase for total knee replacements skyrocket 670% by 2030. We expect to see more & more trials with larger patient #’s and better science to emerge in the near future.